Header locking mechanism



Oct. 9, 1951 D. MILHAN 2,570,261

HEADER LOCKING MECHANISM Filed July 1, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 LE JNVENTOR. L 3 Jam .12 M1330 /9 TOP/VIYSY Oct. 9, 1951 L. D. MlLHAN 2,570,251

HEADER LOCKING MECHANISM Filed July 1, 1948 s Sheets-Sheet z ii- INVENTOR.

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Oct. 9, 1951 L. D. MlLHAN HEADER LOCKING MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 1, 1948 INVENTOR. Jew/2L9 ,D. M'Zlrzn.

Patented Oct. 9, 1951 UNITED HEADER LOCKIN G MECHANISM Lewis D. Milhan, Detroit, Mich., assignor to F. L. Jacobs 00., Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application July 1, 1948, Serial No. 36,479

4 Claims.

This invention relates generally to header looking mechanisms for foldable vehicle tops and more particularly constitutes an improvement over the header locking mechanism shown and described in my pending application, Serial No. 9,403, filed February 19, 1948, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

Inasmuch as the header locking mechanism of the aforementioned pending applicationembodies an operating cam arranged in a substantially vertical position, its application is necessarily limited to those vehicles having a foldable top provided with a relatively large front bow or header portion for accommodating the various parts of the locking mechanism. Where, however, a foldable top is utilized having a relatively small front bow or header portion, the locking arrangement of the aforementioned application cannot be utilized. The present invention contemplate the provision of a novel header lock whose use will be substantially universal with all types of foldable tops thereby overcoming the above disadvantage.

An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a novel and improved header lock for a foldable vehicle top.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel header locking mechanism embodying a substantially horizontally disposed operating cam thereby adapting the mechanism for universal use with foldable vehicle tops having front bow or header portions of varying sizes.

A further object is to provide an improved header lock arrangement for foldable vehicle tops embodying a novel camming means whereby the vehicle top may be readily and rapidly locked to the vehicle frame with a minimum amount of effort required on the part of the operator.

Another object is to provide a novel header lock for a foldable vehicle top wherein subsequent to a manual operation of a handle to actuate the lock to its open position, prior to operation of the top to a retracted or collapsed position, when the handle is released, the locking mechanism is urged to a latchable position so that upon a later extension of the top the various parts of the locking mechanism will come into operative engagement with the vehicle frame. Thereafter, a single motion of the handle to a locked position will promptly lock the front bow of the top to the vehicle frame in a rapid and desirable manner.

The above and further objects and novel features of the invention will more fully appear from the following detailed description when the same is read in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purposes of illustration only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a side elevation view of a portion of a vehicle having a foldable top embodying the novel header locking mechanism hereof;

Figure 2 is a section view taken substantially along line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section view taken substantially along line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged section view taken substantially along line 4-4 of Figure 3 showing the novel mechanism hereof in a locked position;

Figure 5 is an enlarged section view taken substantially along line 55 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is an enlarged section view taken substantially along line 66 of Figure 3;

Figure 7 is a section View taken substantially along line 1-1 of Figure 6; V

Figure 8 is an enlarged top elevation view, similar to Figure 3, showing the locking mechanism hereof in an open position; and

Figure 9 is a view similar to that of Figure 8 showing the locking mechanism in a latched or latchable position.

Referring now to the drawings for a more detailed description of the present invention, the novel header locking mechanism hereof is shown as applied to the front bow of a foldable vehicle top Iii which is shown in Figure 1 as locked to a windshield frame H, the latter having rigidly secured thereto upwardly projecting end dowels l2 and I3 (Figure 2) having conically shaped heads and side recesses 14 and I5 (Figure 3) formed therein and an intermediate dowel 1?), similar to dowels l2 and 13, having a side recess ll formed therein. Dowel [8 has a base flange I8 formed therewith or secured thereto by virtue of which it is fastened to the frame II by way of screws I 9 while dowels l2 and I3 are each provided with an inclined base flange 29 (Figure 6) secured by way of screws 2| to an inclined portion of frame II.

The header or front bow of the foldable vehicle top I0 is provided with a chamber 22 (Figure 4) defined by a base plate 23 having a stepped portion 24 and an upwardly projecting rear wall 25 together with a cover 26 therefor which at its rear is provided with a reinforcing rib 2'! for connection with the free end of wall 25 and at its front is provided with an arcuate wall terminating in a front recess 28 connected to the base plate. A suitable member 29 may be contained in recess 28 to which top It is connected, the latter being drawn into intimate engagement with the outer surface of cover 26 in a well-known manner. A conventional sealing gland 35 is provided on frame H to engagethe base plate 25 when the top is in an extended position to seal the opening between the frame and the top.

Located at a substantially central portion of the base plate 23 is a reinforcing bracket 3i having at one end an upwardly extending slotted wall 32 in engagement with wall, 25 of the base plate which is likewise slotted, at its other end a downwardly stepped portion t3 terminating in an opening 34 for accommodating relative motion of intermediate dowel l therein. If desired, a second reinforcing member in the nature of an apertured plate 35 may be secured to the underside of plate 23 a p Y Rotatabiy mount on; bracket-,5! byway of a stub shaft or rivet'fit whichpasses through plate 23 and bracket'ti is a cam member, generally designated with the reference character 3'1, which has a raised cam surface '58 provided with a low point 35 and a. high point til for cooperation with recess 11 of theintermediate dowel in a manner and for a purpose' jto presently appear. Cam 3'! is formed with "an extended and raised apertured ear '3! for receiving tlief bent end of a driving rod 42, the lower end of the bent portion of the rod being provided with a retaining ring 43 and a transverse pin '54 wherebythe rod will be maintained in an assembled condition with the ear of the cam. At jits opp os'ite "end rod 32 is bent to pass into and to be retained within an opening 45 formedjin one end of a lever defining a handle 15, the latter being -pivo tally mounted by Way of a transversepinfdl, journal'ed within the side of a hollow casing 58 which carries a lower flange 59 for engagement with the underside of base plate 23. 'Ca'sing 48 fastened to walls 25 and 32 of plate 23 and bracket 31 byway of suitable screws 55., Manualfoperation of handle 56 about pivot 1 produces linear movement of rod 42 which, in turn, angularly displaces cam '3'! about shaft '36. 7

Cam 3? is provided with a pair of spaced and raised lugs 5i and 52 located above and below the cent'erof rotation of the cam, the lugs, under conditions to be explained hereinafter, cooperate with the fre'e'end of a "compression spring 53 whose other end is. anchored to bracket 3|, the latter having a bent-over lip 54 (Figure 5) for fixedly holding the spring therein. Handle 45 is shown in Figure'4 as being in a full line locked position in which event the highpoint 49 of cam 31 is located within recess lldfdowel l6 and as a result thereof the top has been cammed into a locked position relative to frame II. At this point lug 5i ofthe cam is engaged by the free end of spring55 and inasmuch as such engagement is effected to one side of and below the center of the cam, the spring tends to further rotate the camrelative'to the recess (Figure 3) in a clockwise direction. This further rotation of the cam by the spring, however, is prevented by the fact that the high point of the cam is already located within the recess of the intermediate dowel.

and 52 engage with the free end of spring 53, such engagement being effected when the low point of the cam has passed out of the recess. This is the latched or latchable position of the locking mechanism hereof and such position is maintained by virtue of the fact that the action of spring 53 on lug 5|, tending to rotate the cam counterclockwise, is balanced by the action of the spring on lug 52 which tends to rotate the cam clockwise (Figure 9). The upper dotted line po- 's'ition of the handle shown in Figure 4 represents the open position in which cam 37 has been moved counterclockwise an additional amount to move lug 5 I' out of engagement with spring 53, the spring, however, engaging lug 52 (Figure 8) at this point, such engagement being efiected at a point below the axis of rotation of the cam. As soon as the handle after having been moved to its open position is released, spring 53 acts on lug 52 to rotate the cain clockwise to its latched position, such rotation coming to an end when lug 5| engages with the spring.

One end of base plate 23 is provided with a bracket 55 having a downwardl extending fi'ange 56 for securing the bracket to the base plate and having a central opening 5! for accommodating relative motion end dewl iii-in b3 therein. If desired, a reinforcing member the form of an apertured plate 58 may be prei/ itled at the underside of the base plate and the matter may be fastened to plate 23 and flange 56 cf the bracket byway of screw's 59 (Flgfiie'?) 'Asbetter shown in Figure '8, for ample, bi ck't 55 has an opening formed 'th one side "of which defines an inclined cam face lifl-haiving an open position 61 and a latched "or latchable position 62. Arranged u'nderne th the opening or "cam surface Bil-is a plate ber 53 which is suitably fastened to the i-inderside of bracket 5 5, "the plate having a-genera'lly straightporticinM, an ihcl-ine'd cam portion 65 and-a level p'cirtien '63 terminating in a raised flang'e 6-! for' rasten-in'g we end or the plate to the bracket. Cain-s i face E0 is thus superimposed ever eam serracett.

Mounted for cooperation wi-th btith eams and is the bent endfor firfg'erfifi 5f {a red '59 which at its opposite end is cen'n'elited by suitable means such as a pin '1 B to eam 31 fo 'r movement thereby. -A step'p'ed'or raised bracket :11 fastened to bracket 55 was as -a guide or limitffor transverse motion of therod. ll-spring nahavingene end anchored to bracket 55 by "way or "a bent lip portion 1 3 has the o'pposite end" thereof beiit over 'rOd 69 to engage'and 5 161 11153113! urge th'e la'ttr,

inf'a ddWliWarH direction towara the recess I 5 bf and dowel :pih I3 218 viewed "in -Fl'g lir 8;

In a generally -sin'iilar mann'er, the opposite end of base plate 2 3 lias abraek'et M -'fastened thereto, the bracket being raised 'relative to "-the plate by virtue ofa fiang e one end-cr me bracket is formed with an opening, similar to the opening of bracket 55;"havihg ah inclined or 'cam surface T6 the latter teingsuperim osed over a cam surfacemot'sh'o n) -similar in aII respects tocain surfaces65-o pIate B3. T'lie berit end or finger of "a rod 1'! "cooperates wi-th b'c'jth 0f the ca'rn surfaces in tire-same manner that finger 68 of r'od69 cooperates with'cam surmees ac and 65, the opposite e'nd' of rod being-connected by w 'ayof a pin 'ldtocam fl formovementthereby. "A steppeder raised-guide bracket ls fasten'ed to bracket 14 dfin's the lim its of transverse motion-of rod '11 while aspimgea which at one e is *attaclre'fd' 'to bracket 14 -b'y wayof a'lip til-phas "a beriflbverpoitioh at its other end for engaging and normally urging rod 11 towards recess I4 of end dowel pin I2.

Assuming that top I I] is in an extended position as shown in Figure 1 and handle 46 is in its locked or full line position as shown in Figure 4, whereby the top is maintained in a locked position relative to the vehicle frame by the novel locking mechanism hereof and it is desired to unlock and retract the top, the operator closes a switch or valve for retracting the top and at the same time moves the handle 46 to its open position represented by the uppermost dotted line position of Figure 4. As a result of such handle movement cam 3'! is moved counterclockwise out of recess ll of dowel I6 and rods 69 and '11 are both moved outwardly to the open position on cam surfaces 66 and I6 as shown in Figure 8, in which case the top is unlocked from the frame and is in condition for a retracting operation. At this point lug of the cam has been moved in a counterclockwise direction away from spring 53 but lug 52 has been moved into engagement therewith so that as the header portion of the top moves away from the frame and the handle 46 is released, sprin 53 exerts a force on lug 52 to cause clockwise motion of the cam which motion terminates as soon as lug 5| is brought into engagement with spring 53. Motion of the cam in a clockwise direction causes finger 68 of rod 69 to travel from the open position 6| on cam 60 to the latch position 62 (Figure 9), while the corresponding finger of rod I1 is caused to move to a corresponding latch position on cam I6. Handle 46 is moved by the cam from the open or uppermost dotted line position of Figure 4 to the latched or intermediate dotted line position of Figure 4.

The advantage of the foregoing described arrangement is that the novel locking mechanism of the present invention is maintained in a latchable condition so that as the top is extended and dowels I2, I3 and I6 enter the openings of brackets 3|, 55 and I4, the conical ends of dowels I2 and I3 will deflect rods 69 and I1 outwardly against the action of springs I2 and 80 until the rods are opposite the dowel recesses I 4 and I5 whereupon the springs will urge both rods into their corresponding dowel recesses. Handle 46 is thereafter grasped and operated manually to its locked or full line position of Figure 4 which results in further clockwise motion of cam 31, the high point 40 thereof entering the recess of dowel I6 and thus camming the top at that point to its locked position relative to framt II. Simultaneously with such camming action rods 69 and 11 are pulled inwardly whereby finger 68 of rod 69 travels upwardly on cam surface 65 until it comes to rest on level portion 66 of plate 63 at which time the rod by engaging with the recess of dowel I3 and moving upwardly has operated the top to a locked position relative to frame I I and the corresponding finger of rod 11 travels on a similarly upwardly inclined cam to engage with the recess of dowel I2 to cam the top at the latter point to a locked position relative to frame I I. Thus by being maintained in a latchable condition when the top is being either retracted or extended the operating portions of the novel mechanism hereof position themselves when the header portion comes to rest over the dowels so that by a simple motion of the handle the header portion of the top is promptly and positively locked relative to the vehicle frame.

There has thus been provided a novel header locking mechanism for a foldable vehicle top which is simple to operate and which provides a positive locking action and which, moreover, is so constructed as to provide a compact and simple arrangement adapted for use with foldable tops having header portions of varying sizes.

Although but a single embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and. described in detail it is to be expressly understood that the invention is not limited thereto. Various changes may be made in the design and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as will now be understood by those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

l. A header lock adapted for fastening a vehicle top to a vehicle windshield frame having a recessed dowel arranged at each end of the frame together with a third dowel arranged intermediate said end dowels, said lock comprising a cam rotatably mounted on said top for cooperation with the recess of said intermediate dowel for camming said top into engagement with saidframe, a first and second pair of superimposed stationary cams carried by said top on each side of said first cam and spaced therefrom, a first rod carried by said top and movable into the recess of one of said end dowels for cooperation therewith and having one end thereof movable on one of said first pair of cams for moving said rod from said recess of said one of said end dowels and thereafter movable on the other of said first pair of cams for cooperating with said one of said end dowels to cam said top into engagement with said frame, a second rod carried by said top and movable into the recess of the other of said end dowels for cooperation therewith and having one end thereof movable on one of said second pair of cams for camming said second. rod from said recess of the other of said end dowels and thereafter movable on the other of said second pair of cams for cooperating with said other of said end dowels to cam said top into engagement with said frame, said rods being connected at their opposite ends to said first cam, and means comprising a handle for operating said first cam.

2. A header lock adapted for fastening a vehicle top to a vehicle windshield frame having a recessed dowel arranged at each end of the frame together with a third dowel arranged intermediate said end dowels, said lock comprising a cam having an open, latch and locked position rotatably mounted on said top for cooperation with the recess of said intermediate dowel for camming said top into engagement with said frame when said cam has been moved to its locked position, a first and second pair of superimposed stationary cams carried by said top on each side of said first cam and spaced therefrom, a first rod carried by said top and movable into the recess of one of said end dowels for cooperation therewith and having one end thereof movable on one of said first pair of cams for camming said first rod from said recess of said one of said end dowels and thereafter movable on the other of said first pair of cams for cooperating with said one of said end dowel to cam said top into engagement with said frame, a second rod carried by said top movable into the recess of the other of said end dowels for cooperation therewith and having one end thereof movable on one of said second pair of cams for camming said first rod from said recess of said other of said end dowels and thereafter movable on the other of said second pair of cams for cooperating with said other of said end dowels to cam said top into engagement with S d. frame, said rods being-connected at. their opposite: ends to saidjfirst' cam, means. comprising ahandle fer operating said first. cam to any cne of its positions, and; means; comprising a spring for urging said first cam to a latch position subsequent to. operation of said first cam to I n en. po i ion- 3 A header lock adapted for fastening a vehicle top to a vehicle frame having a recessed member therecn said lock comprisinga cam, means sup porting said cam on saidtop for-rotation about a s stan al r ca srsa a b in a pt to be moved into said reces Qf Said member to cam said top into engagement with saidframe, means connected to said cam; for operation therey' er simu neo slyeammina ai op i to eas m nt, wi h a d r me at a oin p e from e aint f en a em n f ect d y ai cam, andm ans. or o n said ca 4. A header lock adapted for fastening a vehicle p toa v am hav n a eeesse m mb thereon, said 101:1; cemprisin a c m an s pport n ai am on aid top or t t o a o a subst nt ly vert a ax s, sa d am bein adapte to, be moved into-said r ces Qf's e her tdeam said top into- ;engagement wit fiifi frame,. means connected to said; am tempe et t er by. for simulta eous y: eammine a to i into, engagementwith. sa d rame. at a pe nt spacedfrom the point of a ement efieeted; by said. cam, a linearly movable rod connected, at one; end to said cam; at a po n spa d; e he axis of rotation of said camiorrctatingsaidcarn, and a pivotally mounted handle connected tothe other end of said rod for moving the latter.

IiE-w D:

I RErEaENc s CITED Th following references are, of record in the file, of this patent: NITE ATES: P EN S Number I Name Date 1,204,735 Binder- -Q -1 Iov. 14, 1916 2,360,524 $i mpson Oct; 17, 1944 2,411,945 vig mostad et al Dec. 3; 194d E EEE e -e tt Number Country Date 6100,37,? Great; Britain Oct. 26, 1933 

